WIP
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Working Blurb: Ren had a good life—until debt-collectors enslaved his family and threw him out onto the streets. As barbarians press the borders and bandits plague the roads, Ren must take the first steps on the path to become an immortal cultivator and save his country and his family. From the dark alleys of Katarn to the gilded halls of the crumbling Red Dragon Empire, the threads of Ren’s journey intertwine with dark gods, creatures of the deep, and mystic secrets harbored by wandering madmen. Volume one is just about him getting out of Katarn and finding his place in the military. As the story progresses, I intend to explore themes of how those who don't have a place they belong can find themselves twisting themselves and their values as they try to fit in and find their place. Ren is a sensitive kid, a musician at heart, and he learns to deaden that sensitivity in order to survive and thrive in the military. In later books, I plan to explore the cost of doing so. On the surface, though, it is a dark but hopeful adventure with progression elements. Inspired by eastern xianxia, vedantic and buddhist mysticism, arab/central-asian mythology, my own experiences working in and struggling with mental health, and a lifelong love affair with fantasy. This story my answer to the question, what if i blended my favorite things from Cradle, Name of the Wind, The First Law, and tied in an exploration of my own roots in the middle east and my history with eastern mysticism and martial arts? I don't shy away from the horrors of violence and war, but I try to balance beauty and horror and keep the overall message one of grounded hope and humanistic optimism. I also love a good adventure so I try to capture that feeling of awe wherever I can.